Not GWOT related, but worth reading. A concrete proposal with substance that would have the practical effect of overcoming poor home circumstances for some kids while improving our workforce overall - without lowering standards.

The EU has become the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million ($720 million).Europe also channels an ocean of money to the anti-Israel NGOs. And don't forget the textbooks.

Over the past year, the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism monitored incidents worldwide. In 2012, 6 of the 10 worst anti-Semitic attacks took place in Europe (the rest are shared among Iran, Yemen and United States).

Even more frightening are the new statistics about the popular feelings about the Jewish people in Europe.

Amid the rise in hate crimes in France, the World Zionist Organization calculated the level of antisemitism among French citizens. The survey revealed that more than 40% of the French population holds anti-Semitic beliefs. The survey also found that 47% of the population believes that "French Jews are more loyal to Israel than the country where they live."

The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found that 46% of Spanish residents held an unfavorable view of Jews. Meanwhile, 47% of Germans are of the opinion that "Israel is exterminating the Palestinians," according to a poll undertaken by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, affiliated with the German Social Democratic Party.

44 % of Italians are prejudiced or hostile toward Jews, according to a study recently issued by the Italian Chamber of Deputies's Committee.

You can find the same trend all over Europe. Half of the population holds deep anti-Jewish feelings.

I'm betting that if the Pew Research Center had done surveys in 1713, 1813 and 1913, that the 2013 numbers would look about the same...

#1
These days, that includes the young population in most Arab states that are run by dictators or monarchs. The dictators and kings don't want democracy, and Islamic radicals consider democracy un-Islamic. So the only way to vote is to set off a bomb somewhere. That somewhere, it turned out, was not at home.

Democracy is orthogonal to the discussion. In the neocon lexicon, the word "democracy" plays the same role as the word "Vietnam" (e.g. This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.) in Walter Sobchak's vocabulary every time Walter sees something he considers outrageous.

#2
The term rice Christian might be instructive in this respect. A number of Christians signed up to the religion in exchange for the benefits offered by Christian charities. Over time they became genuine Christians.

A lot of Muslims came to Islam the same way - they signed up to be eligible to join Muhammad's all-conquering war bands to engage in large-scale raids against the infidels - to loot, enslave or kill those who refused to pay tribute. As time passed, they became genuine Muslims.

Think of it as a Darwinian clash of the deities. Those whose gods are powerful help their religious adherents win wars. The more battles Muslim armies won, the more kingdoms converted to Islam in order to propitiate the Muslim deity. Islam's crisis today comes from the fact that it hasn't won a war against infidels for a long, long time. A victory against Assad the infidel will strengthen Muslims in their faith, whereas a defeat will make Allah look like a powerless deity.

Wouldn't surprise me if jihadists were going through the same process. The first ones join for pay, opportunities for rampant graft and death benefits, whereas their children grow up convinced of the rightness of the its world-conquering quest.

#3
" All agree that Islam was born in conquest (after finding that the missionary approach took far too long compared to military conquest) and has never discarded its mandate to convert the world, using force if necessary."

Most western politicians, if they know this, try as hard as possible to ignore it.

#4
Most western politicians, if they know this, try as hard as possible to ignore it.
lord garth, Seneca said: Religion is regarded by the common people as true, the wise as false and the rulers as useful.

As long as the politicians find it useful to ignore the obvious, they will keep using it.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.